The Winnipeg skip who won the 1999 Brier here got right back in the mix on Day 2 of the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings.

Stoughton dominated Randy Ferbey 9-5 yesterday afternoon and is now in the pack chasing the 2-0 rinks skipped by Kevin Koe and Glenn Howard.

Had Stoughton not thrown his last rock heavy, allowing Howard to steal their Day 1 game, he may have been right there with Koe.

"We played really well from start to finish," said Stoughton, who coasted after building up a 7-3 lead at the fifth-end break. "Any time they missed, we capitalized on it. We had a couple of miscues here and there, but other than that, it was a pretty strong game."

At least this time, it did not come down to last shot.

"It is a long week, but you don't want to get down too early," said Stoughton. "You always want to play better and we can certainly do that. We can come out and stink the joint out tomorrow, but hopefully that doesn't happen."

Koe's Edmonton team is unnoticed by the curling world due to the fact Ferbey and Kevin Martin dominate Alberta.

Yesterday, Koe stole four points in a 7-2 win over Jason Gunnlaugson.

"Jason wasn't quite as sharp as he was last night (against Martin)," said Koe. "We got a few key misses out of him that are uncharacteristic of him."

Howard also moved to 2-0 with a tight win over Wayne Middaugh.

"That was a great game," said Howard. "That's another world champion down, for gawds sakes. The only rough end we played was nine. Wayne's a good buddy of mine and on the ice we want to beat each other.

"Personally, I don't care how you win as long as you win. We're 2-0 and right where we want to be. It doesn't matter how you win -- we just want the Ws."

Pat Simmons also got back in the mix, stealing four points in an 8-5 win, catching Martin on an off-day.

"Very nice," said Simmons. "We were a little fortunate more than anything. Any time you can steal against a team like that, there's some good shots and obviously a bit of (good) fortune, too."

On the women's side, Calgary's Cheryl Bernard broke clear of the pack at 3-0 with a pair of wins.

She won 6-5 on a 10th-end measure to Amber Holland then posted her most convincing win of the week, a 9-6 decision over Crystal Webster.

"Our next four games are going to be tough, so we have to do what we have to do," said Bernard. "I'd rather be 3-0 than 0-3."

Shannon Kleibrink put 18 points in a pair of wins to keep pace in the 2-1 pack.

"I'm starting to get onto the ice," Kleibrink said. "I finally woke up and found that draw weight. The ice is so good, We love it. It's great. It's curling. You can make everything"

Krista McCarville is also at 2-1. She chucked a gutsy upweight raise double takeout for two to wrap up her two-win day with a 6-5 win over Stefanie Lawton. Earlier, McCarville blasted Jennifer Jones 9-3.

"It's nice to make one like that," said McCarville.

"I don't mind shooting them (big-weight shots). No matter what, we had to hit nose and you get one anyway. I think we had to go for it -- 2-0 today is really fabulous against the top seeds."

Jones bounced back from an 0-2 start to beat Kelly Scott 11-5 in the battle of the teams that have won the last five Scotties.